Perfect and Visible
by PerpetualSnare
Summary: A Barson Christmas fluff story suitable for all ages. Complete.


It was a little past 9 am on Friday December 26th. The 26th was one of the three days in the calendar year when the Museum of Natural History was closed. However, Olivia didn't know that the museum was closed and _so _when Rafael suggested that they set out for the museum, she balked at the idea.

"Rafael, it is going to be mobbed; there will be _tons _of tourists and locals there for the holiday season. The lines will be long and we won't be able to see anything."

"Au contraire ma sœur," Rafael joked while pouring a third cup of coffee for the morning. "Today there is a special event for members. It won't be open to the general public."

This piqued Olivia's interest. "What kind of event?"

"It is a surprise," Rafael said with a secretive smile on his face.

Olivia didn't like surprises but she trusted her boyfriend. "Do I have a choice?" she asked.

"Of course you do, but they will be expecting us, and I would hate to cancel last minute."

"Which means that I _don't_ have a choice," Olivia retorted.

"Exactly."

After her morning shower, Olivia slid on a comfortable pair of black jeans and the new lilac colored alpaca sweater that she had received from Rafael for Christmas. The traffic from his place to the museum was a bear, but when they entered the museum's 81st Street garage, there were only two other cars in the lot. Olivia was puzzled.

"I thought you said that there was an event today?" she asked.

Rafael's mouth folded into a secretive knot. "Oh, there _is _a special event today, but it is extremely exclusive."

"How exclusive?"

"Only open to the crème de la crème," Rafael replied just as he turned off the ignition.

"Are you going to tell me what it is before we go in?" Olivia asked as they exited the garage. She was growing somewhat frustrated with the secrecy.

"You will find out soon enough," Rafael said and then took Olivia's hand in his before they started to walk up the museum steps.

When they approached the lofty main doors, there was a sign affixed to the window from the inside that read:

**Closed December 24-26. Happy Holidays!**

"Rafael, it doesn't seem like they are open at all. Are you sure that you got the date right?"

"Positive." Rafael reached into his coat pocket for his cell phone and quickly dialed a number. The person on the other end of the line picked up promptly.

"We're here," Rafael said. He waited for the person to respond and then nodded his head with a simple smile before ending the call.

"Who was that?" Olivia asked.

"Museum staff; they'll let us in shortly."

About half a minute later, a tall thin man wearing khakis and a blue and white checked broadcloth shirt opened the heavy doors. He seemed to be about Rafael's age, but his hair was almost completely gray. He wore round black rimmed glasses; a five o'clock shadow graced the lower half of his face. The man looked like he stepped out of a Land's End catalogue circa 1985. When he saw Rafael and Olivia he smiled.

"Please come in; please don't stand out there in this cold," the man ordered politely as he ushered them in with his right hand while holding the door open with his left hand. Olivia and Rafael didn't need to be told twice. It was quite cold outside and they readily stepped inside of the museum. They were immediately greeted by the sight of the iconic towering dinosaur skeleton that stood in the main entrance hall. It had been years since Olivia had paid a visit to the Big Apple's Natural History Museum; she felt like she was 12 years old again.

When the gray haired man closed the door he offered his hand to Olivia and introduced himself.

"Hi Olivia, I'm Mark. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Olivia accepted the handshake and returned the smile. "Likewise." Apparently this Mark fellow already knew her name; she didn't know anything about him. Rafael could see that Olivia was a bit out of the loop, so he stepped in to make the appropriate introductions.

"Olivia, this is Mark Davidson. He is one of the main curators here; we went to Harvard together. We lived in the same apartment complex in Cambridge."

"Oh, so you've known each other for quite some time," Olivia remarked with a smile.

"That we have," Mark responded. "You are in for a special treat Olivia – let me tell you. Most people don't normally get private entrance into the Butterfly Conservatory, but for Rafael here, I was happy to grant an exception." Olivia noted that Mark seemed exceptionally happy, like he was on the verge of imploding.

"Is this the surprise?" Olivia asked. Rafael nodded his head yes, but her attention was quickly drawn back to Mark who spoke again.

"Why don't we hang up your coats in the cloak room; the environmental controls in the vivarium simulate a tropical environment; you will be sweating bullets in your coats."

Rafael and Olivia nodded their heads and followed Mark into the cloak room where they divested themselves of their outermost layers. Then Mark led them into a section of the museum that was right off of the main entrance hall. As they walked through the butterfly exhibit, they admired the extensive collection of lovely specimens on display. There were butterflies of every color and size imaginable. When they finally approached the large vivarium, it started to dawn on Olivia just how special of an experience that this was going to be.

"Okay, you two – take as long as you want in there, there is no time limit. Just make sure that you check your clothing and belongings for butterflies before you exit out the other side. We don't want any escapees." Mark opened one of the large outer entrance doors and Olivia and Rafael walked in to a six by six foot white anterior chamber.

"When I close this door then you can enter the vivarium, okay?" Mark said.

"Okay," Olivia replied.

Mark closed the outer door and Rafael pushed the inner door open and let Olivia walk past him into the large space. They were immediately surrounded by blooming tropical flowers and lush vegetation. Numerous iridescent butterflies fluttered around them. Olivia watched a small green and yellow butterfly land on a Pentas blossom. She took out her cell phone and snapped a photo of it. Olivia then meandered down a winding pathway for a few seconds and then noticed a large owl butterfly dancing around her elbow. Olivia smiled; it felt like being in a rain forest fairy tale. She wished that she could stay in the vivarium forever.

When Olivia turned around to look at Rafael, she saw that a marvelous green birdwing was perched on Rafael's shoulder. It was a magical moment and Olivia didn't want to ruin it by laughing. She tried to take a photo of Rafael and the birdwing, but when she rustled in her purse for her phone, the green goddess flew away off into a far corner of the vivarium.

"Are you happy?" Rafael asked softly.

Olivia nodded her head and walked towards him, reaching for his right hand. "This is a _very_ special experience. Thank you."

"You are_ very_ welcome."

Rafael leaned in and kissed Olivia gently. As they basked in each other's embrace, the green birdwing returned once again to Rafael's shoulder; there was _never_ a more perfect and visible symbol of their happiness.


End file.
